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E08: Johnny Gaddar Breakdown · Breakdown Besties | Bollywood Screenwriting Podcast

• Ananya: Hi, Akshay. Okay, so the next thing that we can go into is genre tropes. Akshay: Hey, Ananya Ananya: What's up? How have you been? Breakdown Besties Podcast: Hi again bestie, I hope you are having fun, I hope you learning and learning is fun. Akshay: Hmm. I really like that we both were to wear black today because maybe we were doing neo-noir as a movie today. Ananya: I have one genre trope there which I want to talk about in terms of why it's important, not in terms of what just what the trope is. So when you have a heist film like this, the trope which everyone knows, the scene which everyone knows is the planning sequence, right? Is that you say it and you bring the audience in, you bring the characters in and you say that this is what we're going to do. A is going to happen, B is going to happen, C is going to happen, right? Now, yes, this is a trope, but why is this a trope? That, that good one. I I thought so much before I dressed. Breakdown Besties Podcast: Anyway, so in our next episode we are breaking down the film Guru. Akshay: I didn't think it through. was a shirt kept on the front shelf. So I was like, yeah, sure. Hmmmm Breakdown Besties Podcast: It's a Mani Ratnam film which has Abhishek Bachchan Aishwarya Rai and a lot of other amazing cool people. yeah, tune in next Thursday. Akshay: Imagine if we decided to do that, like we'd dress up for each of our films. So like if we did another wedding movie, we'll be in full like Sherwani and like lehenga choli and all. Ananya: We give this information to our audience because we know that after they set this plan, this plan is not going to go as per plan. That is the point of this scene because if the plan went as per plan, then you don't have a film, right? Because there's no conflict. Because when you're planning for a heist sequence, We should ask We should ask our audience, do you want that? Do you want us in like sherwani lehenga situation? Because we're like suckers for validation. We will do that. ⁓ Exactly. I even have a lehenga in Mexico. So this entirely possible. ⁓ Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. haha Hmm. Hmm. Yeah, we'll do it. We'll do it. Imagine... And like if we decide ever to like break down Merry Christmas, we'll like one of us will be Santa Claus, one of us will be elf. Ananya: The plan is essentially foolproof, ki yeh hoga, yeh hoga, yeh hoga, this is when they will come at us, this is how we will attack them, so nothing is going to happen. So, either your plan then becomes a montage sequence where nothing goes wrong and you get rid of it quickly. But if it's supposed to be your whole film, like in this case, the plan is established. Why? So that it goes wrong. And why is it important that it goes wrong? And why is it important that you give this information up top? Yeah. is because when you've established what the plan is and then it's not going as per the plan in the rest of the film, it automatically creates tension. Because the audience has this idea in their head, ⁓ no, like they were supposed to unlock this door, they haven't unlocked this door, so the police is coming, the police is catching up. You don't need to set that up again. You probably don't even need to intercut again in that sequence. The information is in your head, you've set up the visual before, you set up the idea before. Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: So that one scene has done your heavy lifting for both giving the information and creating tension. So it does exposition in the opening scene and it does conflict building in your next execution scene. So that's why I think it's a very solid genre trope. This is the reason it's a trope. Akshay: Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. It's telling of that other screenwriting technique which is that if you want your to fail, show the preparation ⁓ and if they're going to achieve it then directly show the achievement. Ananya: Yeah. Cool, okay. Now the next thing and the last thing I have to talk about is subplot, In a film, the purpose of a subplot is to serve the main plot and also to thematically explore ideas which are usually opposing or different to that being explored in the main theme of your A-plot, right? So, if a true relationship is being, a happy relationship is being explored in your A-plot, your B-plot will have an unrequited love relationship or a relationship which could not be fulfilled, right? Akshay: Hmm. Huh. Ananya: So thematically they represent different things. We see this where in our A plot we have ⁓ Neel Nitin Mukesh's character which is ⁓ his story with Mini which is a plot of fighting for their love. Then we have a B plot with this Shardul and Mini's relationship which is a power dynamic where it's not a relationship of equals which is about control. Then you have a C-ish plot which is of Shiva and his nurse girlfriend Vaijanti. Hi everyone and welcome to the Breakdown Besties podcast. I'm Ananya. Akshay: I'm Akshay. Ananya: And together we are your Breakdown Besties. Together we have a combined experience of 14 years writing some of the series which you've probably seen on Netflix, Amazon and Disney Plus like Mismatched, Wedding.con, Ishq in the Air, Shark Tank, Inside Edge, Rana Naidu and Grahan amongst others which have gotten stuck in development hell. At the Breakdown Besties podcast we are trying to give you a film school experience. The kind that we never got but always knew would improve our craft. which is about unrequited love and suffering for love. So, I think while the theme of this film is about power and power of love, they have also showed us the power of love in these, the various facets of it through the subplots. So, subplots A are thematically different and B what all of them do is they also tie into the main plot. So, Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: Over here, we analyze the movie and scenes to see what are the techniques, tropes and all the other tricks and trips used, tips and tricks used on the page that had the movie come to life on the screen. We look at it, we understand it so that we can internalize it and then apply it. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: Vaijayanthi's character, where she has a subplot of being girlfriend, she ⁓ is she's waiting for him to come back, she realises that he's not coming back, she's tortured because she thinks she's hiding information and ultimately she is able to ⁓ kill man who tortured her, like help kill the man who tortured her. So it shows us how and ties into A-plot of killing the police inspector, right? Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. that. Ananya: Then you have ⁓ the biggest one, which is Prakash and his wife Varsha's subplot, right? Their relationship thematically shows us ⁓ healthy love and relationship. And that is the one that wins at the end of the day. So thematically, the film is making a very strong statement that it is love that is clean, pure, that free of like cheating on spouse or cheating on other people's spouses, that is... Akshay: us. Yeah. Ananya: healthy within self that wins, where she has a healthy relationship throughout their relationship, her relationship with Prakash is fine good. And then they think that it is ⁓ she because Neel Nithin Mukesh is wearing Shardul's jacket, she assumes that it's Shardul and she believes Shardul was responsible for killing Prakash. So she kills Neel Nithin Mukesh under the assumption. So thematically and ⁓ Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. ⁓ Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: in serving the A plot very well properly utilized as a storytelling device. Akshay: Yeah. subplot yeah yeah I think this one of the most efficient use of subplots I've seen in a while like in a lot of the films we've discussed this became so important and I think that's a good key to when you're reading the final script is to see if I take the beats of the subplot out is there any way if the main plot gets affected so and if you realize that it doesn't then you don't need the subplot Ananya: Hmm. And now let's introduce our film, which you already know, because you have clicked on the episode. It is Johnny Gaddar, 2007 film written by Sriram Raghavan, additional script input, whatever that means by Pooja Ladha Surti and Vinay Chaudhary and additional dialogues by Akshay: then that's a problem. Yeah. Ananya: You don't need the supplement. Yeah, Atul Taishete. Right ⁓ Cool, so anything else on ⁓ Johnny Akshay: I had a great time watching this Ananya: Okay. So I think the best way of getting into any film to like our audience into it is by talking about the log line, right? Okay, so what is the logline? The logline is the first technique we analyse and it is the main building block of your film. It is your film in one line so that you able to return to it as your guiding light. When you are not able to see the forest for the trees and you need to understand what you doing within your script, when you have lost your guiding light, you refer to your logline. Why? Because it contains four essential elements that go on to define your story, your scenes and sometimes even your dialogue. So what are these four elements? They are conflict, flaw, stakes and goal. Conflict is the main conflict which drives the story. It's the story engine. It's what the hero is constantly going to have to go up against during their journey in this story that we're taking our audiences through. Then we have the flaw. It is the fatal flaw, block, wound or limitation that our hero has which has stopped him all along his life journey so far. Akshay: I was trying to research a little bit about the film ⁓ and it said that there was a It ended on a cliffhanger that who gets the money now and I like, I don't care ⁓ I'm assuming somebody will find it Ananya: I don't care, no. No. And who's left to get the money? Akshay: ⁓ his wife Minnie Ananya: from achieving the external goal that he's gotten onto the quest for during the course of this film. During the course of this film, ideally, he's supposed to overcome this flaw so that he can achieve his goal. Stakes. What are they set to lose should they not achieve their goal? ⁓ It's not just about achieving their goal. Hmm. It's the wives. Yeah. Akshay: and I think she should and I think they both should at this point of time they're like oh we have this life so let's just divide and live our lives peacefully Ananya: Yeah. ⁓ Exactly. Yeah. Okay. So thank you guys for tuning into another episode of Breakdown Besties. As you know, like, share, comment, subscribe and subscribe to our Substack Companion Guide newsletter where you can find a concise breakdown of everything we wrote in today's everything we discussed in today's episode. If they don't achieve it, have to be consequences which take you below your goal. Those are your stakes. And your goal is, of course, the thing your hero is after throughout the course of the film. It's the journey we're going on, right? So for ⁓ Johnny Gaddar, I have a ⁓ log line written down. And I will read it out to us. as well as a couple of writing exercises thrown in so that acts as almost a workshop handout after watching this episode with us. If there's anything else that you would like us to talk about, about the film industry, different movies that we'd like to break down, leave it down in the comments and we will definitely get to it. See you next week for another episode of Breakdown Besties. Bye. Akshay: Okay. Ananya: So when gang wants to acquire the money to run away with a co-conspirator's wife, he must successfully dupe the gang and flee, lest he get caught and killed. Akshay: That's amazing. So succinct, no? Ananya: Yeah, yeah, it's like the film, right? The film was a very simple story. Akshay: Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't know why I surprised but like that log line really like was so crisp. Ananya: to me, crisp, yeah, yeah. And it contains all the elements, so I'll break it down into our elements. The first conflict, which is the story engine, is successfully dupe the gang. So that is what he does throughout the film. That's what generates our conflict, the story engine. The goal is acquire the money to run away and flee. The stakes are he will get caught and killed. And the flaw, block, limitation or wound, which in this film he doesn't overcome. But inferring from all that I've said, while I've not written it directly into the log line because it's not something he overcomes, the flaw is that he is disloyal. He's going after his co-conspirator's wife and that is the flaw. It's not something he overcomes, it's not like he learns that this is like bad. But this is what is driving him. Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Do you not think there is one more element in this? ⁓ The flaw is not just running away with the co-conspirator's wife but also vying for a bigger share than actually promised to him. I don't know how to bring that out. Yeah okay, so to give context to our listeners, vying Ananya: Yeah, yeah, okay. So to give context to our listeners, vying for a bigger share is because they were going to pull off a scam, where everyone would get 50 lakhs at the end, they would invest 50 lakhs and get one crore each at the end of it. But Neil Nitin Mukesh's character was going to steal everyone's share and run away with five crores instead of one I understand what you saying with that. But I don't think they have ever drawn attention the fact that he is going be stealing from these people for the sake of stealing. Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: It's always stealing for the sake of running away. So now that you say it logically, I can say that yes, 1 crore is enough for him and the wife character Minnie to run away and have a new life in Canada, which is the goal. But at no point did I stop to question the logic that why is 1 crore not enough and why do they need 5 crores? So, Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Yeah. Ananya: I don't think he was duping those people for the sake of duping them. He was duping them in order to be able to run away. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: So, I wouldn't say that it is a separate goal, like it's a separate flaw. I would just say he's disloyal, and in a bid to get away with his disloyalty, this is what he has to do. And he's being disloyal in two ways, right, if you think about it. He's being disloyal by cheating, by stealing his gang member's wife, and by stealing money from them. So, I think it's just disloyalty which is manifesting in a couple of ways. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. yeah fair fair yeah that's the blanket term which we can use for this so and like logline has to be succinct anyway so that's good to like do that Ananya: Okay. Yeah. So those are the four elements of the log line and you will see how this plays out throughout the film, Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: So do we have anything else to add on the log line or should we go into the hero's journey? Akshay: Let's break it down bestie. Ananya: Okay, so the hero's journey. The hero's journey is a conventional storytelling structure which has been formalized, I'd say in our narrative terms, by Joseph Campbell but was being adopted far long before that by the Greeks and everyone else to tell stories. What it does is it organizes the events of the story in emotional order such that the audience experiences an event which gets them an emotional hit to continue going on the journey. throughout the course of your film. Sometimes, even when your story is a little weak or your characters are not as developed, as long as you give them these emotional hits every few beats, you know that you are taking the audience on a journey where they'd more or less like to stick around. The hero's journey is not something you need to map every beat to as you go into the writing process, but once you are done with the first or second draft and you're doing a pass for structure, it's always good to cross-check your story, your beat sheet especially, with your hero's journey beats and see whether you're hitting all the marks more or less. So our first beat of the hero's journey is the ordinary world. In this beat we set up the in which the hero exists before they go into their journey. what their life is, what's holding them back, how they live. In this story, we see it with Neal Nitin Mukesh's character. He is a member of a gang that runs a gambling den and also seemingly smuggles drugs, but they call it like furniture, so they've never explicitly referred to it. He is ⁓ hooking up with the of another gang member, Shardul. Her name is Mini ⁓ ⁓ Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: Minnie and Vikram, Neel Nitin Mukesh's character, actually get on really well and she wants him to be serious and she wants... He is, he is, there's no question about it. yeah. And that is their world, right? The call to action is your next beat. The call to action is when your hero is invited into the new world. Akshay: Which he is. Huh. Yeah. Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. Ananya: he is invited into the world where he can go on the journey to achieve what he wants to achieve, right. Now, I believe this could be a point of discussion for us Akshay that the sure, so there are two beats here. The first beat is ⁓ where they're all in the gang like den in the adda and they're discussing this new offer that has come in of moving drugs slash mal slash French furniture. Call to action comes when Mini says that I am done living with Shardul, let's run away from here. And he's like, where will we run away? Will we go to like Manipur or? Yeah. It's like, no, he'll come after us. So then they decide that they will go to Canada, which is why they need the money. And that is his call to action. Mini saying that I want to run away from here is Neel Nathin Mukesh's call to action. Akshay: Yeah. money poor. ⁓ Yeah. I completely agree. That's what I have written as well. Not the prior thing because I feel like that's something which will be happening in regular life. That's not a new task which that's not a new task for this gang to achieve. But what would be new for our main character is that the outcome of this is that he is going to use the money from this deal and run away. So there is inherently more stake. Ananya: Okay, perfect. Yeah. Exactly. Akshay: on this particular deal as compared to any other deal which existed. Ananya: Absolutely, exactly, perfect. I'm glad we're on the same page there. Perfect. Then refusal of the call. Do you think there's a refusal of the call where the hero is like, no, I'm iffy about going on this journey? Akshay: Yeah. I think there is a slight refusal in this very same scene where he says that we are not going to get 2.5 crores you know so it's going to be like it's going to be divided by 5 so I personally felt that's a little it's not a complete refusal but you understand a little bit of the hesitation because Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: because if he didn't have that he would not have planned all the next steps which we see in the movie the deal could have gone the way it did but had he not been motivated that I can like ⁓ launder of the money for myself he wouldn't have gone onto this journey so I felt that could be a small refusal it's not ⁓ done the most clear way which is like no I can't do this Ananya: Right. Yeah. Hmm. Connect. Yeah, yeah, it is. Akshay: And I think it works in this film because all the characters are so grey, like it's not a complete yes or no. So I think that works. Ananya: Hmm. Yeah, exactly. For sure, it's hesitation, which is hesitation to get into the new world. Right. And then meeting the mentor. I think the mentor character is Dharmendra's character, Seshadri. And meeting the mentor is when ⁓ Dharmendra's character explains the plan. Because that's when you know Akshay: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. Okay. Ananya: this is what's going to happen, this is what's going to happen, this is what's going to happen. Because he's essentially mentoring him through the plan. Then of course he decides to branch out. But Seshadri is the leader and that's how I saw him as the mentor character. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. That's interesting because again for me the planning which this is happening, know, like it would have they must have done multiple deals like this. It was not a new plan for them. So I actually thought the moment where he watches the movie, you know, that sort of it's not a full mentor character. But to me, how I associate meeting the mentor is like Ananya: Hmm. Yeah. Akshay: it gives him the final push to cross the threshold. So I thought that ⁓ when he was watching that Amitabh Bachchan movie that ⁓ when you know he does become to know that he can take a flight instead of a train and reach the same location again, I thought that gives him like a plan of action that he could do. And again, I know like a mentor should come back in the later and somewhere in the film and that doesn't happen in this way. Ananya: Push, Right. ⁓ Yeah. Yeah. Not necessarily. Yeah. Akshay: Not necessarily? Ananya: I don't think so. A mentor needs to guide you, right? Like, and when the guidance is over, it's fine. No, I think you're right. ⁓ It the film, interestingly enough. I didn't think of it from that perspective, but yeah. Akshay: Right. Yeah. Huh. Because at the same time what also happens is that the other team member Prakash and his wife are also watching another Amitabh Bachchan movie and he is the one who convinces, using that film he convinces her also to put in her money for the plan. So I thought that because it's something intentionally done there, so I thought that could be the mentor thing. Ananya: Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah, I agree with you that is that yeah film is the mentor nice nice nice catch Then we have crossing the threshold I've got crossing the threshold as bring buying the chloroform where he buys chloroform because that's the first active step into the world where he's like I am going to dupe these people so he goes and buys chloroform to see whether How long it will take to put someone make someone faint? ⁓ ⁓ Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: unconscious with chloroform. Then we are going to test. Akshay: Yeah, but to me also, to me also it felt that crossing the threshold came in a little bit of a sequence that he was assessing that how can he do it. So like he did the chloroform bit and I also thought the moment of coin tossing is when like should he do, should he not do like that's the final nail in the coffin for that. So like that whole sequence becomes the cross is that beat for crossing the threshold. Ananya: Yeah. Hmm, sure. Yeah. Definitely, yeah, I agree with you. Yes. Yeah. In fact, and after the coin tossing, essentially tests allies and enemies begin, where he makes the trip, goes to Pune, establishes an alibi in Goa, speaks to the lawyer, who is also Sesha's friend and all those sequences until he ⁓ goes undercover to the train station on the night the deal is supposed to happen. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: on the night. Shiva, which is played by, I don't know the actor's name, but "Daya darwaza todd do." Akshay: Huh. I think his real name is Dayanand ⁓ I think so, ⁓ Ananya: ⁓ really? Okay, cool. Daya is supposed to, for context, Daya is supposed to go with the two and a half crores from Bombay to Bangalore via train and give it to a police officer in Bangalore called Kalyan. Dharmeendar's character Sesha drops Shiva off at the train station and leaves. Neel Nitin Mukesh in not in disguise but really covered up gets into the train, masked up, yeah, gets into the train with the intention of stealing the money from Daya. That is the approach to the innermost cave, right, stealing the money. Akshay: Like a mask, huh? Yeah. Ananya: So, Neel Nitin Mukesh tries to steal the money from Daya ⁓ ⁓ and ⁓ because Shiva is a man who really can't be taken down easily, ⁓ they get into a scuffle and while Neel Nitin Mukesh mean to kill him, he does end up killing him and tosses him out of the train. Akshay: so that's about it Ananya: that is the approach to the innermost cave. Akshay: I found it too funny. It's like the moment it's so simple, like just to throw somebody off. Ananya: Yeah, but we'll get into that in the world of the film. And then we have the ordeal where Shiva's death is reported in a newspaper. Dharmendra's character calls Vikram over and says, look at happened. ⁓ And then in that Dharmendra finds out that it actually Neel Nitin Mukesh's character who has stolen the money. Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: and there's going to be consequences for Vikram. In that moment, Vikram has to figure out how to get himself out of the situation and as they do in these films, he kills him. That is the ordeal and he has to escape as Prakash and Shardul also come to the scene and until he finally leaves and now the money is for now his. So that is the end of your ordeal according to me. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. I actually thought the ordeal was extended to a much later time where you know like the police inspector also comes because like that such a like that throws again the story in a completely different gear so I thought that also was part of the ordeal and the fact that he confessed to the police inspector like that became sort of like a that to me that felt like ordeal. Ananya: ordeal. Yeah, I think we can pull the ordeal up to the point where they kill the police inspector Akshay: I thought that's reward. ⁓ ⁓ yeah, like that, because, because that's sort of like, that's the victory for them, that, ⁓ they've killed him, so now the threat which was existing to them is now over. Ananya: killing the police inspector. I don't know, I mean that is subjective because you can say that even when they killed Dharmendra's character, that threat is over because this is not an official police investigation, it's the policeman who also lost his business, lost his cut. So, yeah, what I and because I had this question too and the reason I capped it ⁓ at having killed Dharmendra's character, Akshay: Hmm. Well. Right, that's true, yeah. Ananya: is because of the way that scene plays out. The scene constantly builds, it's a pressure cooker scene, we'll talk about it when we go into scenes. But after that scene, once he's escaped, there's a sigh of relief. And he's like, okay, this is done, now I have to deal with the smaller guys. He has taken the big guy and gotten rid of him. and they've even shown this, I'm digressing a bit now, that this guy is someone Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: like Dharmendra's character, someone, Neel Nithin Mukesh can't fuck with because when Neel Nithin Mukesh goes to give him the money initially and ⁓ something happens and he tells Dharmendra that at your age you're gonna do this and Dharmendra grabs him immediately and says, know, like puts him on the floor and goes like, it's not about age, it's about mileage. And that shows us, I thought that scene was a power move that shows us that Dharmendra's character Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: is the biggest kingpin in this. So once he has been taken down, I believe that especially given the way that scene is constructed, what happens after is the road back because he has to deal with much smaller conflicts and antagonists on the way back. They are not your big villains until Shardul ends up being the big villain towards the end of it because it's his wife that he is running away with. Akshay: Yeah. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. That's interesting because yeah, all noted but what you said about the sigh of relief, like I also thought that also was felt which becomes once the police inspector was killed. And in some way, like they've only showed brutality with the police inspector, like he cuts the finger of Shiva's girlfriend. So I... that made me think that he is the bigger threat to Neel's character. that's what I thought that reward like the that's the reward of that. ⁓ But I guess all of it essentially comes down to that moment, right? Like, ⁓ but till the when the police inspector is killed. So whether you consider that in your ordeal or not, I think it's understandable because I think Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Akshay: Especially these filmmakers and think these kind of movies that keep it's not so direct because it's not your the biggest commercial blockbuster movie, right? It's not it's not like Marvel Disney film. It's not one of your big tent pole films. It's something which like I think it's so auteur and like a cult classic of that sort. ⁓ So I think in these kind of movies, these phases do get a little bit muddled up. Ananya: Mmhmm. Yeah. Hmm... Fair enough. Yeah, yeah. I think it's more about the feeling it elicits emotionally. Whether... Like for you, the feeling of that ordeal was like a lot. For me, with the police officer, for me, in fact, I was on my phone during that, during parts of that. Because I'm just like, I am not invested in this character at all. Yeh aagaya and all he's doing is being brutal. I am... There was no emotional investment. So for me, that f- Akshay: Yes, yes. Hmm. Huh. Yeah. Ananya: felt like a road back for me, like when I watched. Akshay: I get I get that, like even I was a little distracted during that time because it also felt a little more longer and dragged than compared to the previous sequences of the film. So I get that. Another reason for me to like consider that as the moment of reward because the road back which happens after that, it sort of leads us to the resurrection point where you know he comes to know that ⁓ those were not real. Ananya: Yeah. Hmm. Akshay: So hence, that was another reason for me to think of that moment as the reward. Ananya: got it, got it, yeah it could be. So, the sequence from killing Dharmendra to the sequence where they kill the police officer can be considered the ordeal and reward sequence. Right, yeah cool. And then the road back them two adversaries. The first is Prakash, ⁓ the man took a loan by keeping his wife's salon mortgaged. Akshay: Yah. Right. word. Yeah, correct. Yeah. Ananya: and Shardul whose wife he is running away with and Shardul obviously has to be the real man with the axe to grind with Neil Nitin Mukhesh's character. He's the one who has to be given the final showdown because they're fighting over the same ⁓ and the so until they until the moment where they kill Shardul is your road back right and then hiding Shardul's body Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: getting rid of all the proof, taking his car away, ensuring that their tracks are clean. That is your resurrection. And for everyone who's not watched the film, Neil Nitin Mukesh's character gets shot at the end. It's a 2007 film, it's 20 years old, like watch it. 19. Yeah. Yeah. So. Akshay: You Yeah, spoiler but please no spoiler. Ananya: because he gets killed by Prakash's wife, which we'll talk about when we talk about subplots. There is no return with the elixir. Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Ananya: So this our hero's journey. solid for this film. Hits 11 out of 12 beats. Takes you on the emotional journey. Cool. What do you want to go into next? Akshay: Yeah. Why do not we talk about the world because that would be so different than everything we have done so far. Ananya: Sure. Yeah, yeah. What do you have on the world? Akshay: I thought the world was very interesting like it's like a mini world which exists of these particular set of people like we don't it's not that each of their characters become too expansive like we... Neil Nitin Mukesh it's just him no family nothing like we have nobody's families we have no friends we have nobody else so it seems like this is a very contained world of these five or six people Ananya: Hello. You Akshay: and every dynamic which has to ensue happens between these six seven people right so at it's the five gang members two of them have their wives and one police inspector that's literally the entire there's nobody else in this world including police no like nobody else so i thought that was an interesting call to take about the film world of this movie that how do you contain Ananya: Hmm. ⁓ Akshay: a movie like this because in what ends up happening in like a crime thriller movie of sorts like the world can get super expansive right so and it's hard to like keep the drama intact because you're always fighting the bad guys like like it's all just those action sequences but what makes it interesting is that all of it stems within the characters themselves so i thought that was very interesting about the world which i think was also very consciously done Ananya: home. Nice, yeah, yeah for sure I see that. Keeping it contained is essential in films like these because otherwise you can't explore the characters and because this is a movie of where one person is cheating etc. I think getting into characters' heads are a little more important that we understand them. It's not just plot driven because the plot is very simple here. So, keeping it contained so that you can Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Ananya: dive deeper into these characters is important. Yeah. I think another thing about the world which I really liked is, which is true to the genre but it doesn't really fall in the genre tropes category, is the fact that in this world everyone owns guns, right? It is normal. And everyone is killing everyone and there are no consequences, right? But if you analyse the way it's done, Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: There are no consequences until they have a police officer on their side, if you look at it. Till like when Vikram kills Shiva, when they kill Shesadri and then when they kill the police officer and there is no investigation or anything. But when Prakash's character is killed and thrown into the place where they always shoot in in Pawai and they... Everyone shoots there. ⁓ Akshay: Hmm... Hmm... Hmm. Hmm. Yeah. Ananya: the one spot we have with tall buildings and a lake but and they put car, they drop the car into the thing. Then when you see the car being pulled up, there is police. So I thought that was an interesting truth of the world which they've not explicitly mentioned but while they had police protection, police didn't come after them. But then we started seeing police a little more. Then when Nail Nitin Mukesh's character got killed, we Akshay: Yeah. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: cut back to the opening scene, which was a flashback and you have the police van. So there is a certain internal logic within this world, which is important when you're writing a story like this to Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: Like The world is not ⁓ It ⁓ gives you elements which you can play and define the logic of your film. Akshay: Hmm. ⁓ Hmm. Hmm. That's a very interesting thought. in my head whenever like that's happening, I'm like, huh, who cares about the police? Like that's the, like that's the idea, right? Like if you get into logic, how will you write it? Like, because today everything is so, CCTV cameras, phone cameras, like everything is just so visible. So, but what, what you explained, that makes sense. Like the filmmakers did try to... Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Akshay: sort of put some sort of a boundary toward it and that's nice. Ananya: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Plus this was 2007, so I think we weren't as digital as a world as we are right now. Akshay: Yeah, yeah, yeah Ananya: So that's what I have on world. Akshay: I have one more interesting thing about the world is that I think the way it looks is that a lot of the, you can understand the filmmakers love for cinema and literature in different ways. So like they have recurring motifs of like films being played, books being read and they somewhere translate into the psyche of these characters. So, ⁓ Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Akshay: whether it's like you know when Shiva is introduced he's watching that Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman film or Prakash and his wife are watching an Amitabh Bachchan film ⁓ then Vikram's character is watching a film when he gets the idea to make this plan ⁓ and he's reading this book when he's like about to have that hallucination like you know all of it and it made me wonder that is this something Ananya: Yeah. ⁓ Akshay: a force fit because sure like you know like filmmakers like to give homages to something which they love and you know it's their way of doing it but it's also like a more broader thought and like more real thought because when you look about look at people around you a lot of them do find aspiration and ambition in film right so the fact that ⁓ Amitabh Bachchan could do this like who thought he'll be a superstar you know like so why can't we be Ananya: Bye. Akshay: That idea of that cinema is about what we want our lives to be, I think really comes into the psyche of these characters somewhere. ⁓ And it's like consciously done in like different ways. Like even the name Johnny Gaddar comes from like that film they were watching at the hotel reception. Yeah, yeah. So I just thought like that was an interesting touch of the world. Ananya: Hmm. Nice. Yeah, I know, but that's in film, yeah. Nice, yeah, very cool. We see how the films in the world influence our characters. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Yeah, yeah. Ananya: Yeah and they act as the mentor too which is what you mentioned earlier. Akshay: Yeah, correct. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ananya: Nice, nice. Okay, so let's go into scene construction next. So the first scene I think I want to talk about is the literal scene of save the cat and like hello Sid Field like they took you literally. ⁓ Akshay: Huh. Huh. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Ananya: So for the viewers, you haven't seen it, Nitin Mukesh's character Vikram has a cat throughout the film. You see them stroking the cat and then he wants to go buy some chloroform to test whether how long it's going to take to get someone to become unconscious with it. ⁓ at the pharmacy, he's asked why does he need this? And he says, I have a cat who I need to put to sleep. She's not well. Akshay: Alright. Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: He buys the chloroform under that pretext and he comes home and he calls for the cat. And the audience is automatically scared. except that once he makes sure his cat is okay, he goes to his room and he tries the chloroform on himself. Now, I think the scene works at two levels. It's a wonderful misdirection. Why is it a wonderful misdirection? Because this film is a neo-noir film at the end of the day. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: And if you've seen enough of those, you expect almost that, you know, your villain is going to be like, ⁓ my animal, I love this animal, blah, blah. But will then kill it when it has to, because at the end of the day, they really only care about themselves. Right. So this is a misdirection to show that this is not how he is. And he also what I think they have, they need audience empathy for his character throughout the film. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: because you're going to see him commit a lot of murders, right? And sure, he's doing it for a woman. So you think that's okay. But when you have a character like this, an audience may wonder that he's doing this for a woman, but at the end of the day, the woman will also become someone he's going to control. But then by using the cat, maybe I'm overthinking this, but this is how it came across to me, that the cat is essentially helpless. Akshay: Mmm. Okay. Ananya: and they make him not kill the cat, you show that this character is actually more human than the other characters and he is a safe space for this woman character, like for her to be with him. So the scene works on two levels. It works at a misdirection level, which is a craft standpoint for the scene and at a character empathy building level. Akshay: Mm-hmm. Hmm. Hmm hmm That's interesting Even I really like that sequence is also interesting because i want to talk about the sequence which is ⁓ related to something like this which is about creating empathy for Vikram's character was that Vikram and character essentially like we know this is a world of crime ⁓ and ⁓ gang members and like you know betrayal and murders. Interestingly both Vikram and Sheshadri, the first scenes of theirs in the film are introduced them in their relationships and love lives. So like Vikram's first scene is about like him surprising Mini and you know they are sleeping together and he she asks him like, oh, you're not serious about me and he's like, I'm not driving all this way for no reason. So you immediately like, like these people before they get into the big dark heavy stuff. Similarly with the Sheshadri's character that, oh, he was missing his wife, he was grieving about for her and like he plays her music on loop. Like all these are very real nice qualities about people and so Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: before introducing them as gang members and then going deeper and making their layers these essentially tell them ⁓ these are these people and the gangness is all the extension of them so which i thought was interesting because it's essentially done to create empathy like there's no other reason to do that Ananya: Hmm. Yeah. Empathy. Yeah. Akshay: I also have other note about the same thing that ⁓ of the five gang members, they gave four of them very loyal like qualities, right? Like they were one woman man, ⁓ of the except for Shardul. We've seen him going to these bars, ⁓ like, know, frolicking with these women, being harsh to his wife. So I think that was also like a little bit of a to make some sort of a difference, ⁓ I think that could be one of the things. Ananya: Yeah. They telling you who to root for. They like Shardul not good, don't root for him. Akshay: Huh. Huh. Ananya: Okay, what else do we have on scenes? ⁓ Akshay: Okay, I want to talk about the coin tossing moment. Where what we said about it was the moment of crossing the threshold. ⁓ He has decided that he's gonna have a whole plan of his. But you also want to retain the innocence of the character a little bit. So to show them that he is hesitant, he is thinking four times more, because it does feel like how did he suddenly decide to go ahead and do this? but we're showing that he has a little bit of a conscience. He is trying to do this. So I really like the element that he decides to do a coin toss, but then when he doesn't get the result he wants, he goes again. And I think they really nicely tapped into this psyche of somebody that you know what you want to do, but you sort of like finding other reasons to do that. Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: and I thought that was very interestingly done. ⁓ This is also another way of retaining agency of a character ⁓ because one of the common feedback which comes through like whenever we write in something is that, your character is not active enough. Like he's being more reactive than active. What does he do? He doesn't do much. And my logic to that is that's also OK in some films because like if Ananya: Mm. Akshay: to give an example of say Harry Potter. Harry Potter is the most inactive character of all time. He's always reacting to something. But that's something which you now in modern storytelling has become so important that every character needs to have an agency. So I thought that was done very interestingly ⁓ because he didn't stop at that one ⁓ moment when he didn't get it. So I thought that was nice. Ananya: Yeah, nice. Yeah, cool cool technique. Akshay: Can I also branch into personal anecdote from this? Like I remember when we were at the crucial junction where we were deciding that we don't want to ⁓ follow our finance profession and enter screenwriting. It's something that I had done where I actually made a list of people I wanted to consult that before like taking the step and subconsciously I only wrote the people who would say yes to it. So. Ananya: Yeah. Yes, yeah. Akshay: So I thought it a very, really felt relatable in that moment that, you know what you want to do, but you're just finding additional reasons to back this outcome. Ananya: Yeah. Yeah, you're looking for a sign. Akshay: Yeah, you're looking for the sign. So I thought that was a very nice scene. Ananya: Nice, yeah, yeah, for sure. Next, I have the scene where I just want to talk about the power of intercutting, which is when there's this scuffle going on between Vikram and Shiva on the train while he tries to steal the money and they have an intercut of a TC character, ticket checker character coming in. Akshay: Hmm. Mmm. Mmm. Ananya: and that builds tension. So they're fighting who's going to win, who's going to lose, is he going to be able to get rid of the body in time and the TC coming in, taking twists and turns etc. Very simple, not a novel technique but it keeps tension going, what's going to happen now. So every time especially in the genre of films you want to create tension, this is a great way of creating it, intercutting. Simple always works. Akshay: Yeah. Hmm. It's one of my favorite screen writing devices and I love intercutting and just a bonus tip I think everybody should check out the first episode of the fourth season of The Crown They have this whole interseq in a sequence where they're on a hunt ⁓ I think that three different people at three different ⁓ locations are doing a hunt for like say a deer or something and it's the way the tension like keeps increasing Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: It's done beautifully. Everybody check it out. Ananya: How do you remember this? I have seen all of this but I have no recollection. Akshay: And I remember actually talking to you about this and you were the one who brought it up. We were like, I remember your message, were like, bro, this is mad intercutting. Ananya: Oh wow, I have no recollaction Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: Okay, okay, cool. And another scene I want to talk about quickly before we talk about the big scene. another technique I ⁓ is ⁓ using the to bring conflict into the scene. We've spoken about this technique before, but this is a very simple way of doing it. This is the scene where Neil Nitin Mukesh is in Goa. Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: and he's trying to get the lawyer character off his back. So he goes onto the beach and he says, I'm meeting a woman, but the lawyer character just keeps looking at him and like waiting, where is this woman he's going to meet? Where is this woman he's going to meet? And then Neil Nitin Mukesh knows that I'm in a bind. I need to figure this out. And he sees some like this gang of white people on the beach. So he goes up to them and A, it's authentic to the world because there are lots of white people on the beach in Goa. Next, he says, guys, do you want to be in a Bollywood film? And like that is such an easy way of getting like white people's attention, right? Like, do you want to be in a Bollywood film? Yes, everyone is instantly like, yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. He's like, okay, just wave there. So they wave. So it's a very cleverly done way where they've used the world. even the micro world within our world of the film has been used. Akshay: Hahaha Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: to keep the scene authentic to the film which is important as a screenwriting technique. Akshay: Hmm. yeah that's very interesting Ananya: And now we have the pressure cooker scene, which is the scene of the ordeal where they ultimately kill Dharmendra's character. Yeah, well done. Very, very interesting scene. This scene reminded me of the opening sequence of Munna Bhai. Where it's just one thing after another, after another and you just don't know in which direction it's going to go. Akshay: Mmm. Yeah, I think the way the scene is crafted sort of distinguishes like why it's like a noir film rather than a proper crime caper movie because there is a lot of stay and restraint and it's taken its own time like I think the sequence is about like 10-12 minutes long I don't know I could be wrong but it's so it it looks it feels like a theater performance in some way Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: So I think it becomes a little bit of genre defining that which a writer has consciously done that this is not like a high paced crime movie. Like it's not, it's not going to be staged like a whodunit and it comes across as a very, one information has happened and another information comes in, another information comes in and in a way that the consciousness of all these characters is kept very intact. in the say so why don't I break it down a little bit so he Vikram's character is called to Sheshadri's place say and he comes to know that ⁓ Shiva's character has been has been found dead on the tracks ⁓ and which Vikram already knows because he was the one who did that so he has to now actively lie and pretend that ⁓ this didn't happen which he does very well he keeps doing that he keeps behaving naive and then very interestingly when Shashadri's character feels that his core team members have betrayed him you know Vikram's character could have acted in a way like ⁓ like who do you think it is but his first stances i don't think any of them will do it So it's so interesting like that's what is the element of surprise in this pressure cooker scene that Vikram chooses to not throw other team members under the bus immediately. No? Ananya: for sure. Akshay: once he's trying reason more and more with Shishadri's character and then Shishadri thinks that you know what maybe Shiva himself did it because he is the only one who could like defeat himself. Still our hero doesn't dial down. He continues to be like ⁓ I don't think Shiva would be this, I don't think he would have done that. Only ultimately the scene sort of flips when ⁓ Shreyasadri catches a small detail which is that how do you know I went to drop Shiva at the train station because I think you saw me and you think ⁓ my god now what's gonna happen right like that's the biggest reveal of the film is now out in the open to the biggest threat of the film so far and again you think there another be another scuttle immediately but again the element of surprise comes that he confesses Vikram confesses that I did it, I sorry, now what to do about it and again you think that the scene will end because say Shishadri will maybe kill him but again you prove the moral conscience to be higher when Shishadri is like okay fine we will deal with it, let me call the others, we will see what happens and that's when finally Vikram is like you know what, I just have to kill him and he kills him. Ananya: Yeah. Mm. Akshay: such interestingly done that every expected thing they did it differently. So I thought that was really nice. Ananya: Definitely, yeah. I think I've been trying to figure out what techniques, right? How do you give these names techniques? And I don't think there's a technique. It's just how can I keep surprising the audience such that it is true to character. That is what you need to keep asking. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm, hmm. Hmm.